Yuan Ming, after breaching Fan Yun Island, did not continue to partake in the subsequent battles of the East Sea Alliance. Instead, he returned to Purple Nan Island and sought out a cave mansion to enter seclusion.

His intervention, though it carried some risk, however, had yielded considerable rewards.

After this battle, within the East Sea Alliance, the name of the Nether Moon God and his Nether Moon God Envoy was known to all.

The cultivators were not only grateful to Yuan Ming for his contributions to the salvation of the East Sea but were also curious about the existence of the Nether Moon God, and even more eager for the rumored blessings of the Nether Moon God.

Amid these intertwining thoughts and emotions, the Desire Power Yuan Ming harvested far exceeded that of his past, making him eager to go into seclusion to absorb it.

With the aid of these Desire Powers, Yuan Ming's Soul Cultivation soared, progressing to the mid-stage of the Sleep Witch before he finally managed to digest the surge brought by this tide of power.

In this period, thanks to the East Sea Alliance's successful surprise attack that broke the Red Blood Sand Formation blockading the Yuzhu Three Islands, the plan by the White Bone Venerable to sever the Alliance's supply lines and enrich his own had failed, catching the Wu Yue Sect off guard.

The East Sea Alliance had re-established connection with the Yuzhu Three Islands and was now fully engaging in transferring supplies, with most of their manpower being redirected near Red Leaf Island. There were hardly any people left on Purple Nan Island, and nobody realized that in just a few days, Yuan Ming's strength had significantly increased compared to before.

However, with the East Sea conflict still unsettled, Yuan Ming did not stay in seclusion for long. After slightly solidifying his Divine Soul Cultivation, he broke out from his seclusion, preparing to head to Red Leaf Island, but upon encountering the barrier outside his cave mansion, he discovered a communication signal from Jin Chao.

Yuan Ming was somewhat puzzled by this, but without dwelling on it, he quickly located Jin Chao and Fairy Jin Yun, who had been waiting for him for quite a while on Purple Nan Island.

"Senior Jin Chao, what urgent matter brings you to seek out this junior so eagerly?" Yuan Ming asked respectfully with a cupped fist gesture.

Earlier on, before the operation to Break Array began, Yuan Ming had handed over the Cold Moon Ring to Jin Chao, and now seeing Jin Chao coming to him again, he couldn't help but let his thoughts wander, wondering what it could be for.

"It's nothing serious, just that Jin Yun and I are leaving and wanted to notify you. If you had come out of seclusion any later, we might not have waited," Jin Chao said calmly.

"Senior is leaving?" Yuan Ming was stunned.

"Why, didn't I tell you earlier? I'm not interested in the matters of the East Sea conflict. Now that the agreement with you is complete, what's surprising about me leaving?" Jin Chao said indifferently.

"But Senior, Fusang Island is still in the hands of the Wu Yue Sect, and they control the Fusang Divine Tree on the island. Don't you wish to reclaim it?" asked Yuan Ming. * (*)

"I have more important matters to attend to. The Fusang Divine Tree can stay with the Wu Yue Sect for now. However, if you and the East Sea Alliance can reclaim it, that would indeed be a good thing, and I will owe you a favor," Jin Chao said, lacking enthusiasm.

Yuan Ming grew more puzzled, unsure what could be so important that it made Jin Chao temporarily disregard his own domain.

Seeing that Jin Chao had no intention of explaining, Yuan Ming did not ask further and simply made a cupped fist gesture,

"In that case, this junior won't keep you any longer. I wish Senior a smooth journey with the task ahead."

Jin Chao nodded and gave Yuan Ming a complex look.

Out of politeness, Yuan Ming did not employ his Emotion Manipulation Ability at this moment, thus remained ignorant of the implied meaning behind Jin Chao's gazes.

As Jin Chao rose to his feet, Fairy Jin Yun, who had been standing quietly by his side, suddenly approached Yuan Ming.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, I seem to have never properly introduced myself to you," her voice carried an unusual emotion.

Yet Yuan Ming, at this moment, failed to detect these subtleties. As soon as he saw Jin Yun, he was reminded of Jin Chao's earlier suggestion, not finding any issue with it himself but not wishing to cause any misunderstandings.

"Fairy Jin Yun is too kind; we cultivators need not be bogged down by elaborate formalities. Your name has long been known to me, and we have met several times in the secret realm. I must say, Fairy, your valiant stance then truly left a deep impression on me," Yuan Ming said with a genial smile.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan, there is no need for such courtesies. Our understanding of each other was ultimately insufficient, but I do hope that there will be another opportunity to stand side by side with you in the future and to form a heartfelt exchange," Fairy Jin Yun said, smiling gently as if the warm sunrise brought brilliance to the entire room.

Yuan Ming was momentarily taken aback, not understanding the meaning behind her words. It seemed that Jin Yun, too, had no intention of elaborating as she nodded to Yuan Ming and then left with her father.

After the departure of Jin Chao and his daughter, Yuan Ming sat long in his room, still unable to comprehend the deeper significance behind Fairy Jin Yun's actions.

"What did she really mean by that?" Yuan Ming couldn't help but seek Xi Ying's opinion.

"Heh," the response that came was nothing but a cold laugh from within the Stealing Heaven Tripod.

...

Wu Yue Sect headquarters.

"Useless, all of you!" roared the White Bone Venerable from atop his grand hall, sending a sudden gust of eerie wind that silenced every Nascent Soul present, as if they were cicadas in winter.

"I expended so many resources to set up that Great Array, and all I asked was for you to guard it. Such a simple task, yet you couldn't even manage that?" the White Bone Venerable continued to berate them.

"Venerable, it's not fair to blame us," interjected Qing Ya, the surrendering Nascent Soul from Thousand Snake Island, unable to hold back his defense. "After all, who could have anticipated that the East Sea Alliance would dare to simultaneously attack four Array Eyes and coordinate their actions so well?"

"There is indeed something suspicious about this matter. In my opinion, it's possible that there's a traitor causing mischief, someone who has secretly leaked information," Li Wu, a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Wu Yue Sect, sneered as he cast a meaningful glance at Qing Ya.

"Venerable, please see clearly that ever since Thousand Snake Island joined the Wu Yue Sect, our loyalty has been unswerving, we wouldn't dare to harbor any second thoughts," Qing Ya glared back at Li Wu and hastily stood up to bow towards the White Bone Venerable.

The White Bone Venerable merely glanced at Qing Ya, noncommittally, saying nothing.

A chill ran down Qing Ya's spine. These Wu Yue Sect Cultivators had always looked down on them, the surrendered cultivators from the East Sea, and the strange breach in the Great Array was probably just what Li Wu had suggested—the same suspicion the White Bone Venerable harbored. It was just that they still needed their service for now, so no direct accusations or punishments had been meted out, at least not yet.

Meanwhile, a Black Robed Cultivator sitting to the left of the White Bone Venerable suddenly coughed twice before slowly speaking:

"In my view, the breaking of the Great Array does not necessarily point to the presence of a spy. If not, why would the East Sea Alliance wait until their supplies were nearly exhausted to break the Array, after it had been established for so long? I think it's best to investigate whether the East Sea Alliance has gained some powerful new ally," he said.

If Yuan Ming were here, he would have recognized the speaker as Ni Mu, the leader of the Dawn Alliance.

However, those present seemed unaware of his true identity, only knowing him as the Heavenly Puppet Venerable of the Wu Yue Sect.

"Enough! The Great Array has been breached, and assigning blame now accomplishes nothing. At this moment, there's only one thing we must do—the East Sea Alliance thinks that by breaking the Red Blood Sand Formation, everything will be fine. We must show them the true capabilities of the Wu Yue Sect!" the White Bone Venerable pondered for a moment, seemingly regaining his composure.

"Right now, the East Sea Alliance's morale is high, and we don't yet have a clear understanding of their current situation. It would be unwise to act rashly. Perhaps we should shift from offense to defense for the time being, take the opportunity to consolidate the areas we've conquered, and wait until we have a clearer picture before making a decision," suggested Ni Mu.

"Shift from offense to defense? Our Wu Yue Sect has come all this way to the East Sea, not to act with undue caution. If the Wuyue God holds us to account, none of us will be able to bear it," laughed Li Wu derisively.

"Indeed, even if the East Sea Alliance received reinforcements, how could they be stronger than Wan Tianren? It's unlikely that Jin Chao will exhaust her resources for the sake of the East Sea Alliance, or else the situation would not be what it is today. Plainly put, our previous siege was only a ruse to bide time. We're already prepared, even if the Array hadn't been breached, we would have advanced on Purple Nan Island in a few days. Now it's just happening a bit earlier!" the White Bone Venerable decided with a wave of his hand.

Beneath his black robe, Ni Mu's complexion turned ashen, clearly disagreeing with White Bone Venerable's unilateral decision.

He was privy to much more information than the White Bone Venerable, including that Yuan Ming had joined the East Sea Alliance.

Ni Mu had an intuition that Yuan Ming was likely tied to the breach of the Red Blood Sand Formation. Yet the White Bone Venerable's insistence on attacking now caused him some unease.

But after some thought, Ni Mu ultimately chose not to reveal the information he held.

After all, the one currently in charge of the Wu Yue Sect's affairs in the East Sea was the White Bone Venerable, not him. Whether the outcome was victory or defeat, the credit was not his, and neither was the responsibility.

If one chose to act alone, one must bear the consequences of that choice.

"Well then, I'll just wish White Bone Venerable an early victory," Ni Mu said with a light laugh, excusing himself from the council hall.

...

On Purple Nan Island, Yan Siyun had finished dealing with her immediate tasks and returned to her residence.

Since meeting with Yuan Ming, even Wan Tianren seemed to be aware of Yan Siyun's role as a subordinate to Yuan Ming, and thereafter she was no longer required to undertake missions, allowing her to devote herself entirely to serving Yuan Ming.

But for now, Yuan Ming had no orders for her, so aside from gathering intelligence and spreading the word of the Moon God Sect, she found herself with plenty of free time.

After arriving at her residence, she first sorted through the intelligence she had collected as usual, then took out an ancient tome related to divination and, using her Divine Sense, started to read with relish.

She didn't have many hobbies, but she had a particular interest in divination. However, since divination was so profound and sometimes the results were ambiguous, she never considered it her primary practice. It was more of an auxiliary technique for her, another way to interpret and analyze intelligence.

That day, however, as she read the ancient tome, she was suddenly inspired to take out her turtle shell and bamboo divination tools and cast a divination for herself.

"Hmm, this is..." Yan Siyun's casual posture straightened instantly as she examined the divination, her expression turning solemn.

After a moment's contemplation, she quickly stood up and sought a way to contact Yuan Ming.

"Divine Envoy Yuan, the Wu Yue Sect's forces will soon descend upon us," Yan Siyun said with certainty.